Contents

Alternate Universe (often abbreviated as "AU") is a descriptor used to characterize fanworks which change one or more elements of the source work's canon. The term most often refers to fanfic, but fanart can also invoke AU tropes (for example, steampunk versions of universes). Constructed reality, a term used in Vidding, is essentially the visual counterpart to AUs in written fanfic.

AUs: An Introduction

AU fanworks cover a great deal of creative territory. The most strictly defined AUs may diverge from their source canons in a single specific way (for example, a Star Wars AU in which the first Death Star is not destroyed, a Merlin AU in which Merlin comes to Camelot as an agent of Nimueh, or a Castle AU in which Johanna Beckett was not murdered). More broadly, an AU may transplant a given source work's characters to a radically different setting, shift the genre in which their adventures occur, and/or alter their professions and goals, such as those popularized in the Xena: Warrior Princess "Uber" genre. Fortunately for purposes of classification, a large proportion of AU fanworks fall into recognizable subgroups.

Nor is the concept of AUs restricted to fanworks. A growing number of commercial story-universes have incorporated AU elements to one degree or another in the source canon itself, and some of these have developed specific fan followings of their own. Among the most notable are comics publishers including DC (Elseworlds) and Marvel (What If...?), Star Trek (as early as TOS, in the episode Mirror, Mirror, and more recently with its Myriad Universes anthologies), and Supernatural (episodes in which supernatural creatures put Dean and Sam in various alternate universes, including one where they're swapped with actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki).

It's generally agreed that the most effective AUs are those in which -- even in the most radically changed circumstances -- the transplanted characters are clearly recognizable in relation to their canonical counterparts. However, there is much controversy in fandom as to what makes such characters recognizable and precisely when an AU deviates so far from canon that it effectively becomes original fiction -- at which point it may no longer be considered "proper" fanfic, and may no longer appeal to fan audiences.[1][2][3]

AU fanworks are notable for allowing fans to stretch themselves creatively and to engage in flights of fancy. They may also serve to promote fandoms with small canons, to present the writer's views regarding canon-related controversies, and/or to provide social commentary related either to the source canon or to some aspect of the AU being presented.

Classifying AUs

Categorizing AUs is complicated by the fact that over time, different naming conventions have been used by different fandoms and fan groups. For example, some fans use alternate reality to describe stories that diverge from source canon at a specific point, while others use the same phrase to describe stories that drop characters from their source canons into an entirely different milieu. Likewise, the 1990s saw an effort made to adopt "extended universe" to describe narrowly divergent stories and to limit "AU" to describing more radically divergent works. (Not surprisingly, it didn't take.)

Another taxonomy[5] discussed differences between types of fanworks characterized as AUs or ARs especially pertaining to canons that themselves already include alternate realities and alternate timelines, such as Stargate and Star Trek, distinguishing between fanworks set in:

a fanwork AU that diverges relatively narrowly from that of its source work. For example, in Merlin fandom, "canon AU" is used to describe works set in the show's medieval time frame, distinguishing them from "modern AU" works.

Fanworks based on source-canon AUs may be labeled in various ways as well, sometimes using source-canon episode titles (as listed above), and sometimes coining new terms. In Stargate Atlantis fandom, Mensaverse or Mensa AU denotes works spun off from the episode "McKay and Mrs. Miller", while in Xena fandom, Conqueror tags stories set in the world of the Hercules episode "Armageddon Now".

Fusion

Fusions -- works in which two (or more) fictional universes are condensed into one -- are sometimes considered a special case of AU; more often, they're considered a subtype of their own, standing between AUs and crossovers.

Reboot

While the Hollywood-coined term "reboot" -- popularized in connection with Star Trek XI (2009), which went to great lengths[6] to characterize itself as existing in a parallel timeline to that of Star Trek: The Original Series -- often arguably describes an AU version of a previous source work, fandom has not generally adopted the term either as a descriptor for fanworks or of the fandoms arising from commercial reboots.

Shared Universe

In some cases, an AU fanwork can become popular enough that its readers are inspired to create additional works in the same setting. This can result in a "shared universe" consisting of anywhere from a handful of stories to hundreds. (This usage of the phrase differs somewhat from that of professional writers working in "shared world" settings such as the Wild Cards or Thieves' World books.)

UA

UAs are very similar to AUs, but instead mean "Universe Alterations". Unlike canon divergence, UAs are set in the canon universe, but with "alterations", as the name suggests. For example, a character is born younger, a certain things exist in an otherwise-unchanged universe, etc.

AU Subtypes

While AUs exist in nearly infinite variety, a high proportion can be grouped into recognizable subtypes, with examples that can be found in a variety of fandoms. Among these are:

AUs in Japanese fandoms

AU-type stories are common in Japanese doujinshi as well, often featuring characters recast as high school students or animals. Some animanga canons include AUs as well. The One Piece anime has several specials which portray the cast as superheroes and supervillains, or denizens of a Tokugawa-era Japanese town. Kazuya Minekura wrote Executive Committee, a silly high school AU of her manga Wild Adapter.